Learning English-Language Arts

The International Reading Association and the National Council of
Teachers of English last week released voluntary national standards for
English-language arts. The standards call for students to do the
following:

Read a range of print and nonprint texts to build an
understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the culture of the
United States and the world.

Read a range of literature from many periods in many genres to
build an understanding of the many dimensions of the human
experience.

Apply a range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate,
and appreciate texts.

Adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to
communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different
purposes.

Employ a range of strategies as they write and use different
writing-process elements appropriately to communicate with different
audiences.

Conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and
questions and by posing problems.

Use a variety of technological and informational resources to
gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate
knowledge.

Develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language
use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups,
geographic regions, and social roles.

For students whose first language is not English, make use of
their first language to develop competency in English-language arts
and develop understanding of content across the curriculum.

Participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical
members of a variety of literacy communities.

Use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own
purposes (learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and exchange of
information).

Copies of "Standards for the English Language Arts" are available
from the International Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Road, P.O.
Box 8139, Newark, Del., 19714-8139 for $13 for members of the two
groups and $18 for nonmembers, plus $3 shipping. For credit card
orders, call (800) 336-7323, ext. 266; fax:(302) 731-1057.

For additional standards-related publications, contact the
association at the above address or telephone numbers, or contact the
National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana,
Ill. 61801-1096, or call (800) 369-6283; fax:(217) 328-9645; e-mail orders@ncte.org.

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